Thursday, April 14, 2005

'The Final Cut' = Worth Watching

Last night I watched 'The Final Cut' a film that went through the theaters like a greasy taco on buck-a-beer night at the El Sombrero. This is too bad because its actually a pretty cool film.

The set up is simple. In an a quasi-alternate reality parents can implant an organic device in their unborn child called the EYE implant (Everything You Experience) which records everything they see, hear and say for their entire life. Upon their death, a 'cutter' takes the implant, downloads all its information and edits it down to an hour or so highlight film called a 'rememory' to be shown at the funeral.

Robin Williams plays Alan Hakman, a cutter who specializes in carefully editing the lives of pervs, abusers and other wealthy but wacked individuals into something tasteful for their next of kin. In this role he is privy to lots of dirty laundry. As such he is very remote and uneasy around people. An anti EYE implant group seeks to get the raw EYE footage of a powerful member of the company that makes the EYE and will go to great langths to get it. Williams is also haunted by a childhood memory about a death he may have caused.

Willams does a good job though the understated role could have beenplayed by a number of good actors. The look of the film is also very understated. No chrome, no CGI, or explosions which is a relief. If Bruckhimer had directed this, it would have been a messy pile of shit with Ben Afflek, gunfights and a 'tasteful' sex scene with Hollywoods latest piece of ass. In fact, its best feature is that 'Final Cut' generates post-film converstions about how society would view such an invention. How would you behave if you knew everything you did would someday be watched by someone you don't know?